It's official. Rafa Benitez has endured the worst start to his tenure at Chelsea of all nine Roman Abramovich-era managers.
Many of Chelsea's dissenting fans may
feel vindicated to know that the much-derided Spaniard has the worst
record of the group with a paltry 56 per cent win rate at the club.
Although Andre Villas-Boas had the same
win rate, Benitez has seen his side lose four games of the first 16
under his control, whereas the now Tottenham manager only lost three.
It's official: Rafa Benitez has made the worst start to his career at Chelsea under Roman Abramovich
The special ones: Jose Mourinho (left)
and Carlo Ancelotti each had a win rate of 81 per cent in their first 16
games at the helm
Request: Chelsea fans have been opposed to Benitez since he replace Roberto Di Matteo
CHELSEA MANAGERS' FIRST 16 GAMES IN ABRAMOVICH ERA
Manager | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals for | Goals against | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Claudio Ranieri | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 14 | 75 |
Jose Mourinho | 16 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 26 | 4 | 81 |
Avram Grant | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 7 | 75 |
Felipe Scolari | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 37 | 7 | 69 |
Guus Hiddink | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 26 | 13 | 69 |
Carlo Ancelotti | 16 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 10 | 81 |
Andre Villas-Boas | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 34 | 18 | 56 |
Roberto Di Matteo | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 14 | 69 |
Rafa Benitez | 16 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 40 | 15 | 56 |
Perhaps unsurprisingly, according to the
Opta stats, Jose Mourinho was the most successful in his early reign at
Stamford Bridge.
The man they call the 'Special One' won
an impressive 13 of his first 16 games (81 per cent). So too did the
double-winning Italian Carlo Ancelotti, but he lost one more game than
Mourinho in the early stages of his career in west London.
Interestingly, Benitez's Chelsea have
scored the most goals in his short spell in charge than any of the
others, with an 8-0 home win over Aston Villa helping them on their way
to an unsurpassed 40.
Villas-Boas conceded the most goals in
his first 16 games at the helm, as he watched his side let 18 goals in.
Mourinho's Chelsea were incredibly stingy, conceding just four goals.
Benitez has been the subject of chants
and banners from the Chelsea faithful, who have not hidden their disdain
at his appointment after he replaced the Champions League-winning
Roberto Di Matteo earlier this season.
Previous bosses: Andre Villas-Boas
(right) made a similarly poor start to his reign, as Felipe Scolari
(left) won 11 of his first 16 games in charge
Short spell: Guus Hiddink (right) had a relatively successful stint as Chelsea manager
Hero: Di Matteo was sacked despite delivering the Champions League to Roman Ambramovich
Shrugged off: Avram Grant lost only one of his first 16 games in charge after succeeding Mourinho
He and misfiring striker Fernando Torres
have been targeted in recent weeks at Stamford Bridge after a string of
disappointing results.
Any remaining title hopes for the Blues
were left in tatters on Wednesday evening when Chelsea spurned a
two-goal lead to allow Southampton back into the game to draw 2-2.,
leaving them 13 points behind leaders Manchester United.
Benitez did little to endear himself any
further to the home support when he replaced crowd favourite Frank
Lampard with Torres in the second half.
Waving goodbye: Claudio Ranieri was in charge when Bramovich took charge of the club
Satisfied? Abramovich has had nine managers since taking control of Chelsea in 2003
Chelsea fans were also distraught to see
the club's chances of winning the Capital One Cup decrease drastically
as Swansea stunned the Blues with a 2-0 win at the Bridge on January
10.
Worse still for Benitez, one of his four
losses in charge came against west London rivals and Premier League
basement boys Queens Park Rangers.
Benitez has found it extremely difficult
to get results at Stamford Bridge and has only managed two victories
from seven home games.
The interim manager is likely to be
moved on by Abramovich in summer, but with top target Pep Guardiola
snubbing the Russian billionaire's riches to move to Bundesliga outfit
Bayern Munich, it is unclear who will take charge if and when the former
Liverpool boss departs.
BENITEZ STRUGGLES TO FIND FORM AT HOME
Chelsea have managed just two victories -
albeit high-scoring ones - from their seven home matches in all
competitions under Rafa Benitez, who has been jeered by Chelsea fans at
every game.
It is now three matches since Chelsea last tasted victory at home and the natives are getting restless.
Ahead of Arsenal's visit to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Sportsmail takes a look at Chelsea's home-sickness under Benitez.
November 25: Chelsea 0 Manchester City 0 (Barclays Premier League)
Chelsea kept their first clean sheet in 11 matches but Benitez (right) was jeered and booed by the home fans, angry that Roberto Di Matteo had been sacked.
Chelsea kept their first clean sheet in 11 matches but Benitez (right) was jeered and booed by the home fans, angry that Roberto Di Matteo had been sacked.
November 28: Chelsea 0 Fulham 0 (Barclays Premier League)
Another
uninspiring goalless draw from Chelsea, who toiled against a
well-organised Fulham side. Benitez and Fernando Torres bore the brunt
of the fans' frustrations.
January 2: Chelsea 0 QPR 1 (Barclays Premier League)
Chelsea's
west London rivals QPR won at Stamford Bridge for the first time in two
decades with a goal from former Chelsea midfielder Shaun
Wright-Phillips.
January 9: Chelsea 0 Swansea 2 (Capital One Cup, semi-final first leg)
Chelsea
were punished for another poor performance and Benitez was showered
with more abuse from the stands, mainly for not bringing on new striker
Demba Ba, as Swansea took charge of the tie.
January 16: Chelsea 2 Southampton 2 (Barclays Premier League)
Chelsea were cruising at 2-0 with goals from Ba and Eden Hazard but they allowed relegation-battling Southampton to hit back and claim the draw.
Chelsea were cruising at 2-0 with goals from Ba and Eden Hazard but they allowed relegation-battling Southampton to hit back and claim the draw.
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